Mother Knows Best
by Paint a Melody
Summary: What if Mother Gothel isn't quite as evil as she is made out to be?
1. Chapter 1

_ "Once upon a time a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens and from this small drop of sun grew a magic, golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured._

_ Well, centuries passed and a hop, skip, and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved king and queen and the queen, well, she was about to have a baby. But she got sick. Really sick. She was running out of time and that's when people usually start to look for a miracle, or in this case, a magic, golden flower._

_The magic of the flower healed the queen. A healthy baby girl, a princess, was born with beautiful golden hair. To celebrate her birth the king and the queen launched a flying lantern into the sky, and for a while, everything was perfect."_

**Authors Note: This is just the basic premise for those who may not be quite as familiar with Tangled and it is taken almost directly from the beginning of the movie. **

**This fanfiction is going to be a slight reversal on Tangled. Disney made Mother Gothel completely evil, but I have a hard time believing that someone in Mother Gothel's position would be that evil. After all, she had been living for hundreds of years alone in the woods. Why would she even hoard the flower to keep living? It doesn't seem that she was doing anything useful or enjoyable with her life. So my question is what if Mother Gothel was framed? What if she isn't completely evil? I hope this will be a twist on the movie but still keep the main theme and most of the events of the movie in tact. The perspective will shift through the story, but I will try to make it clear whose view I am writing. If you like it, hate it, have ideas, or just generally want to comment, please feel free to pm me or leave a review. It may make me write faster. **

**Disclaimer: For those who aren't familiar with the concept of fanfiction, I didn't create Tangled. I do not own it or any of it's characters. Please do not make me post this every chapter; I think if it's on fanfiction it can be assumed that it is not completely original. Also, if I worked for Disney or wrote a story that people are writing fanfictions on, I think I would have better things to do then rewriting my story online to change what happens. Presumably I would write what I want to happen the first time. Just my thoughts…**


	2. Chapter 2

Mother Gothel

Even after all these years, I still remember the day I found the flower….

My first childhood memories were all happy ones. I grew up sheltered and protected, my mother adored me, and my father loved me. Like every child I believed this could last forever. To my complete shock one day the impossible happened. My strong, beautiful, lovely mother, my invincible mother, died and my whole life crumbled.

oOoOoOo

"Gothel, my child, don't cry. Everything will be okay. I love you, and always will no matter what," my mother spoke softly, no longer capable of producing more than a whisper.

"I love you more," I replied, trying to hold back the tears for my mother's sake.

Barely able to keep her eyes open, she slowly made out the words "I love you most," before her eyes shut completely and she lay motionless on the bed.

"Mommy?" I whispered, knowing already that I wouldn't get a reply. I wanted to run to her, to hug her one last time, or to crawl into bed next to her and pretend everything was normal, but my father approached me first.

"Gothel," he knelt down in front of me with tears in his eyes. "Your mother is dead."

I don't remember what happened next….

oOoOoOo

The door opened, slamming against the wall and bouncing back from the impact of my father. He staggered into the room, almost walking into the table as he attempted to sit in one of the chairs. "Gothel?" he roared, "go to the Snuggly Duckling and get me another drink. Hook-hand kicked me out again."

He was drunker than I had ever seen him, and he scared me. I wanted to say something, anything, but my throat was closed with fear. I often got sent to get another drink, but normally Hook-hand wouldn't give me one either as father never paid for his drinks, and coming back empty handed meant I would get a beating. Hook-hand normally asked me to stay, but not coming back until the morning would mean a beating as well. And on the rare occasions I could beg a drink out of Hook-hand father would almost always send me out for another one.

My father wasn't always this way. I don't think I ever saw him drink until after my mother died. While she was still alive, he was the best father I could have asked for. He was caring and adored me. He taught me so many things, and was the first one to reach me when I hurt myself or just needed a friend. The problem was that my father absolutely worshiped my mother, and her death shattered him. He spent almost every penny he earned on his drinking, and started making me do the cooking and cleaning. He would come home late and drunk, and he became completely unpredictable. His fun, loving nature evaporated and many days it seemed like he hated me. His hate only grew stronger as I grew older and became more like _Her_. My father, the one I had trusted so completely, turned on me. He barely tolerated me, and couldn't hide his contempt even enough for me to cover it with my fantasies. And all of his anger, his rage, or any emotion he was still capable of feeling became directed at me, and ultimately taken out on me. He would beat me, and I was only left trying to find whatever escape I could from _Him_.

"Gothel, did you hear me? Get me another drink," his face was now red with anger and he staggered out of his chair towards me.

My legs were shaking so hard they almost gave out on me as I sprinted for the door.

It was quite dark, and although I knew the walk, quite scary. The night sounds were loud, and the monsters only came out in the dark. Except for my dad of course, he would make an appearance in the morning too.

Hook-hand, despite his fearsome appearance, was kind to me. He was like a new father to me, the one who took over when my old one started abusing me. Honestly, if it weren't for the circumstances in which I saw Hook-hand, I would really enjoy my visits with him. But, alas, my father could not settle for only partially destroying my life. I slowly pushed the door of the Snuggly Duckling open. "Hook-hand?" I called timidly. I was always a little scared to enter the Snuggly Duckling without Hook-hand because of the other thugs.

"Gothel!" he called out excitedly. I'm so glad you're here; I was getting a little bored. You know how the guys get when they're drunk-"

"All too well," I muttered under my breath.

"-they do the same stupid thing every night. I don't want to break up any more fights tonight." offered his good hand to me and led me through the door. "Alright, everybody out!"

The bar cleared quickly, though a few of the more drunk thugs needed an extra reminder to clear out. "I take it your father wants another drink," he started, and I nodded. "I'm sorry, Gothel, I just can't give you one tonight," he was genuinely sorry. "Please stay here though, you don't have to go back until the morning when he is sober." He led me over to a stool by the fire and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.

"I can't stay, you know that," we had this debate every time I came. "I really wish I could though," I added, not wanting to hurt his feelings. It was true as well, here I was warm and safe, even my father couldn't take on Hook-hand.

"Sure you can-"

I cut him off. "It will just make things worse tomorrow."

"Then I will walk you home tomorrow."

"He would be furious. You can't be there all of the time, and when you're not, I would pay."

"I can contact the officials, see if I can get you moved somewhere else,"

"But he's my father. I can't leave him! He is the only family I have!" As irrational as it was, it was also true. I had thought about running away before but I couldn't bring myself to leave him.

"At least let me walk you home tonight," Hook-hand insisted, relentlessly.

"No," I was just as stubborn as he was. "I have to leave but thank you for everything," I jumped off the stool and turned to go.

"What do you mean 'thank you'? I haven't given you anything and you keep refusing my offers."

Not knowing how to answer, I just continued my way to the door. Right before leaving though, I saw Clyde, Hook-hand's son, appear at the bottom of the steps that connected the bar to the upper layer where Hook-hand and Clyde lived. "Bye," I whispered shyly.

"Stay safe," he whispered back, though we both knew I wouldn't.

I left Hook-hand's and made my way back home. About half way through the walk, exhaustion caught up with me, and I headed a little bit into the woods to sleep. I slept a little bit, though it was fitful because there was a slight chill now that I was no longer moving and the dark woods unnerved me.

I woke up under the shelter of branches and a blanket of stars, and for a moment started in panic. Where was I? It was only a couple of hours until dawn arrived, and my father would be even more upset if he realized that I left last night. I had to make it home by then, but I didn't recognize the trees around me, I was farther in the woods than I ever had been before, and I didn't know which way I came from because of my little nap. I got up and, choosing a direction at random, walked briskly on legs still shaky and sore from last night. Pushing through the throbbing pain in my aching legs, I stumbled through the forest hoping I was heading back towards the house instead of further into the woods. Time passed as I kept walking, and it felt like hours and days to me. The more I walked, the more I panicked and the stronger the sense of foreboding I felt as the time I had to get to the house was slowly squandered.

Eventually I saw a glow through the trees. Relieved, I hastened my pace toward the glow, almost collapsing from my trembling legs, which were not only sore but exhausted now. I didn't care however because the glow had to be from a house, or at least a fire, which means if it wasn't my house then there was someone around I could ask for directions. Before I found the source of the glow, I realized where I was. As much as I wanted to see what could be causing the glow, forced myself to turn away and reluctantly headed home, hoping I could be there before he woke up. However, I kept wondering what created the glow in the woods? Was it a person? Could they have taken me with them and gotten me away? Questions echoed in my head, refusing to give me any peace and even overriding the dread I felt for the impending time that my father arrived back home. He was up before me and I was going to pay for my adventure last night, but all I could think about was a stupid light I had seen through the trees.

Resigned to the fact that I had to figure out what the glow was if I ever wanted a semblance of peace again, I started making plans to sneak out of the house some other time to find the source of the glow, even though I knew logically that it wouldn't be there again. I blew my one chance at escape, and didn't even get anything from it, as my father beat me again when he got home.

Full of resent and still unable to redirect my thoughts, I planned and waited with baited breath for a time I could escape when it would be dark enough to even see the glow. I couldn't go out at night again, my father was keeping a closer watch then ever, though it did mean he wasn't making me go get him drinks. Unfortunately, that didn't necessarily mean he didn't beat me, though it may have been a bit less frequent now. Impatiently, I waited for a day when it was dark enough that I could leave while he was working and make it back before he did. Finally a day arrived with dark, heavy clouds in the sky. I still wasn't sure it would be dark enough, but if I didn't try I wouldn't know, and after I gave my father a decent head start, I ran for the woods. I set off in the direction I though the glow had been from, and felt my hopes soaring for the first time since I had seen the glow in the first place. After wandering back and forth, meticulously searching the woods inch by inch, I saw a faint light between some of the trees. My heart skipped a beat with excitement. The glow was barely perceptible even with the dark clouds, but I ran as fast as I could in the direction of the glow. It was so faint that I lost it's trace a couple of times, but by carefully backtracking I soon found it again. It was slow going and difficult despite the oppressive clouds that were as dark as I had ever seen them, but eventually I entered a clearing that was filled with the light, and at the very center, found it's origin. At the very center of this clearing was a single golden flower radiating golden light like the sun.

**Authors Note: So this is some back-story for Mother Gothel. My draft for this chapter was much shorter and included more content, but I think it is better this way. The other half of my draft can be the next chapter when I finish rewriting it, and then there will probably be at least one more chapter of backstory if not two for Mother Gothel. **


	3. Chapter 3

Mother Gothel

The oppressive clouds had threatened rain all morning, but as soon as I found the flower they finally opened up and rain poured down on me. I stayed with the flower for a few more minutes, entranced by it, but the water chilled me and I was forced to leave. On a last minute impulse, I scratched small sections of the bark off certain trees to mark the path to find the flower again.

I ran home and quickly changed clothes, attempting to find a place under the leaky roof of my room to hang my dress out to dry. I knew it would be easier if I went into the main part of the house where the roof didn't leak, but then my father would find it, and I didn't want to chance how he would react. While pacing the room in vain to find a spot that didn't drip water, my thoughts were pulled back to the flower. All day I kept thinking about it, about how it glowed- a glow that was so unnatural yet surprising beautiful. I wondered how the flower got there and I saw it's dim glow every time I closed my eyes. The flower taunted me in my dreams and tormented my thoughts constantly, and nothing could seem to get it out of my head, even the thought of punishment from my father.

The one advantage to my new obsession is it allowed me a limited freedom. The pull of the flower now overrode the fear of my father's abuse and I went to visit the flower daily. I would wander to the clearing to do nothing more than sit and stare at its unearthly beauty, yet these were the moments I enjoyed the most. I memorized the path to the flower as the bark slowly grew back on the trees. I learned to love the glow of the flower and even progressed to the point where I could still see its radiance in the brightest of daylight. I wove a basket out of vines to keep it protected from my father or anyone who stumbled across it and would wish to take my only source of joy.

At some point during my visits a tune popped into my head that seemed to fit with the flower, and I started to hum it to the flower on my daily visits. Perhaps I hallucinated, but I swear that every time I hummed the tune the glow marginally increased and after I finished it dimmed again. I became obsessed with trying to find words to fit the tune, and after years of wracking my brain, finally found ones that fit.

"Flower gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine"

The first two lines were so obvious, and I loved their beautiful simplicity, but I don't know how I came up with the second two lines. I guess I was just singing it while thinking of my mother one day and playing around with rhymes, but now that I have come up with this, I can't seem to change it or even think of another rhyme to take it's place.

The song occupied my thoughts, and I couldn't wait to share it with my father. It reminded me of my mother and I thought, rather childishly, that it would remind him of her too and he would enjoy the song. For the first time I could remember, I couldn't wait for him to get home, and my heart skipped with anticipation at the slightest sound. When he finally did get home I barely waited for him to close the door before singing my song to him.

"What the heck do you think you are doing?" He asked demandingly. I thought it was just the shock of the song, and answered him.

"I was singing a song I created for you. Do you like it?" I could already see his response. He would settle back in his chair and make me sing it again, and when I finished he would tell me how much he enjoyed it and how sorry he was for everything he had done over the years. He would hug me and be the good father he used to be.

"I don't think I've ever heard anything more stupid. I work all day to provide food, and this is how you spend your time? You ungrateful witch," he was in one of his fits again, roaring as if he wanted the entire world to hear him. He gave me the worst beating he ever did, and told me that I had to go find a job tomorrow 'or else'. Yet I knew I couldn't. When he left I ran out to the flower again and sang it my song. At least it would listen and wouldn't mock me for it.

The flower reacted in a way I never would have expected as it's glow grew brighter than ever. At first I was worried I had done something wrong as the light enveloped me, but when I finished singing the glow receded and the flower appeared the same as it always did. Curious, I sung the song again and again, but the flower never repeated its reaction. Betrayed, I stood and made my way home, only vaguely realizing that I was no longer throbbing from my fathers beating yesterday. Invigorated and more alive than ever, I ran back home.

My father was very late that night, and I fell asleep by the window awaiting his arrival. He never did come home that night, or the next one after that. The third day Hook-hand came to see me.

"Gothel," he started talking before I even opened the door. "I'm so sorry. I swear if I knew this would happen I never would have given him another drink."

What? What was Hook-hand talking about? Why was he at my door? Had father passed out in his bar again? It wouldn't be the first time, though it would be the longest time he stayed there. "What happened? Where is father?"

"He's at the bar Gothel," Hook-hand was visibly uncomfortable now and stammering to get the sentence out, "but… well… I don't want to be the one who has to tell you this, but… your father is… d-dead."

"Dead?" my mind was blank with shock. Father? Dead? I felt a massive wave of grief, and then a guilty sense of joy. "What am I going to do?" the question was echoing in my ears, and I had to ask Hook-hand. He was the only one I trusted.

"You can choose. You are always more than welcome to come see me, you can even live with Clyde and me at the bar if you would like. You can also live here, as the property is yours now."

I couldn't believe it. After all these years, I finally had the freedom I had dreamed of.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long update time; school is very busy because of the upcoming AP tests. I'll try to update at least once a week but I can't make any promises. I have also made a community if you would like to check it out, I would love some recommendations of stories to add to it!**

**Thank you to all of you for viewing my story but I would like to give a special thank you to FallenFromAngels for favoriting (no I don't think that is a word, but I'll use it anyway) my story and to ZeLuNatic22 for following my story. It made me so happy to get those emails in my inbox. **

**Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, even if it isn't what I want to hear.**


	4. Chapter 4

Mother Gothel

The queen was going to have a baby, and the whole kingdom celebrated. Everyone was dancing and laughing, reveling right outside the palace. I watched from an alcove in the wall, much preferring my hiding place to the throngs of people. Personally, if it were me, I don't think I could stand the noise, but I suppose the queen must not have minded. She never came out to join the celebrations though, which was unlike her as she usually always appeared and made friends with the townspeople. A few days into the celebrations, we learned why. The king came out and made an announcement to us, barely chocking back his tears.

"My friends, the queen is ill. The doctor has informed us that if a cure is not found within the day she will die and the unborn child will die too," the crowd gasped, horror etched into their faces as they began to murmur among themselves.

What should I do? The flower could likely save her, but in order to save her baby she would have to drink a potion with the flower. I tried the flower on a pregnant fox once that had been badly hurt, and although it healed the fox it couldn't heal the kits. Even if a potion were made out of the flower there is no guarantee it would save the child. Not to mention that once the flower was used, I would age. The flower had also healed some of my injuries, one of which should have been fatal. I wonder if the injury would come back, and if I would die this time like I should have the first time. But by giving the queen the flower, I had the chance to save at least her life and maybe the child's. Two lives for my one life seems like a pretty fair deal. It's not like anyone would miss me, I'm just as alone in this world as I was when my father isolated me. I wouldn't be surprised if no one even noticed if I died. And the queen had a lot of people depending on her. She had a husband that loved her, a whole kingdom full of people who admired her, and possibly a child. People would notice if she died. But was I selfless enough to do this; to sacrifice my life for another's? I stared down at my shaking hands, trembling with the weight of the decision that rested upon my shoulders. Then slowly, I stepped away from the alcove that had kept me hidden from view.

"Your majesty?" I spoke, my voice barley rasping out of my mouth. Only a few people around me heard me, but they started quieting the crowd and soon the rowdy square was silent. The eyes of everyone, including the king, were on me.

He responded softly, "speak," in a formal manner. It almost seemed harsh but what could I expect? He was still the king and to him I was nothing. Not yet, anyways. At least it wasn't a command on his part, though you could sense that he was used to giving them from the authority and finality in his voice.

"I think I can help the queen. If you are looking for a miracle, I can find one," once the words left my mouth I realized how stupid they sounded, but what could I do now? It was already done.

The king turned. I expected he was turning away from me, but it appeared he was talking to one of the guards that stood next to him, not that anyone would actually attack him. The guards were either for formality, tradition, or for support. Though in this case, it seems like I was going to get one sent after me as the guard quickly turned down the stairs and headed through the crowd, which parted easily for him, towards me. When he reached me, he took my hand, which I snatched back. If I was going to go, I wasn't going to go without a fight. I reached towards the knife I always kept tucked in the top of my boot. The guard gave me an exasperated expression and tried again. "Come," he commanded, before heading off through the crowd again. I stayed where I was until I could feel the hands of the villagers shoving me forward and the guard glanced back. "You did say you could help the queen," he reminded "or were you making that up?" Sighing, I followed the guard towards the palace.

I was brought to the bedside of the queen where the king and the doctor stared down at her with worried expressions. Actually, when I saw her, my expression probably mimicked theirs. Even though I didn't know this person and wasn't nearly as connected to her as the others, my heart ached for her. She looked absolutely horrible.

"Please…" the king stumbled, not knowing how to address me.

"Gothel," I quickly inputted, not willing to give him my first name. I never revealed it anymore, to anyone, even the king.

"Please Gothel," he stated again, "if you were true to your words and you know a way to save her, tell us," he practically begged me. It was a rather nice feeling to have the king dependent on his subjects, and if it weren't for the urgent condition of the queen I might have let him grovel a little bit more.

"I have no guarantees that this will work," I prefaced my explanation. I couldn't afford to get peoples hopes up and crush them, especially not someone as powerful as the king.

"It doesn't matter. We will try it," the king's voice was full of urgency. I briefly wondered if he really meant that they would try anything. In a different time this would have been really entertaining. It's a pity that I couldn't get my enjoyment from it now.

I told them about the flower and about it's powers. I told them my theory that she would have to drink a concoction made from the flower. I again emphasized the uncertainty behind this theory.

"And you know where this flower is? Can you bring it to us?"

"Yes, though it is a little bit far and the fastest way would be by boat."

"I will arrange it so you can leave immediately."

"You aren't coming?"

"I want to be here in case something happens," his expression grew even more somber, all of the hope melting off his face. "Do you want someone to come with you? Will you need help?"

I didn't want to tell him what I really thought; I would sound even stupider than I had in the square. Really, I just wanted someone else to get to see the flower before we killed it, in all of its glory in the clearing.

"Here, I'll have two of my guards go with you just in case you need help. Ok?"

"Sure."

"I will have your boat ready in fifteen minutes," I guess I was excused now. I turned and quietly left the room, trying not to cry with the thought that after all of these years I was losing my flower, my most treasured possession.

The boat sailed silently across the water and we landed shortly after leaving the dock. It wasn't the best landing, there wasn't really a good place to stop the boat, but the guards did their best to follow my pointing and get us as close as possible to where I said we had to go. Once they got the boat tied up I hopped out, refusing their offers to help me out. They followed suit and I started the trek through the woods. It was weird to know that others were invading my sanctuary and it was hard to forget they were there because their armor kept clanking. I realized that if I were to be in the queen's place I wouldn't be able to stand the sound of the armor either.

When we reached the flower they audible gasped, clearly not expecting the sight in front of them. "We found it!" one of them called. From the way he talked it was almost like he thought I was making the flower up, and never thought it existed, that finding it in the woods here was a miracle on it's own.

The guards carefully uprooted the flower because I couldn't bring myself to do it and carried it back to the boat. Neither of them put it down, carrying it all the way to the queen and trying to give me verbal instructions on how to work the boat. Sometimes they contradicted each other, and our return trip was much rougher than our trip to the flower.

When we finally reached the queen the flower was quickly brewed into a drink somewhat like tea, but one that glowed gold and probably tasted better than any tea ever would. The king carefully supported the queen as she drank it. Then she sighed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. A little bit of color did return to her face though, the only indication that the flower might have worked. I relaxed a little, letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Thank you!" the king cried, clearly believing already that everything was going to turn out fine. "How can we ever repay you?"

I was shocked. Was this man even stupider than I had been? Clearly my worrying was for nothing, as in comparison I seemed quite smart. A nagging side of my brain reminded me that I shouldn't judge him because he had just been through a very difficult and probably exhausting ordeal, but I ignored myself, that part of my brain had only ever gotten me into trouble. "Wait to see if it worked. Then we can talk," I replied and then promptly left.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't post earlier. I learned, I'm not making promises on when I can get the next chapter up. It may be a while, but in a few weeks I hope to be able to post more often. I know this deviates from the plot of the movie a little bit, but it's necessary. I will rejoin the plot further in a chapter or two, though there is still the scene with the guards pulling up the flower. Stick with me and you will see how it fits together! And after the next few weeks are over I should be able to update more often, so please don't give up on me!**

**I would like to give a shout out to toystorylover for adding this story to their favorites list, and to IceQueenandFireQueen for following it. An extra big thanks goes to EvilQueensDaughterRapunzel and rish22 for both following and favoriting it! Also a huge thanks to IceQueenandFireQueen for providing all three of this story's reviews, you guys don't want to let her have all the fun do you? **IceQueenandFireQueen - I promise that I will make my point soon, I just need to get another two or three chapters out of the way first! Sorry if it is too long of a wait, I really am trying here to get these up!


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